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Friday, September 21, 2012

{Mini Review} "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn

I am adding something a little new to the blog, the Mini Review. I may do this on books from time to time. They will always be books I have acquired on my own, I will never do this with a book that I have been asked to review. Also, I will say that in most cases these will be books that I either didn't care as much for and I don't want to do a long review, or books that can't be discussed in much depth due to spoilers. In the case of this book, it's both!

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

Diving in...

Ok, here is the deal. I really, really, really wanted to love this book and for the first 2/3 of it I did. It's incredibly well written and very witty, there is no doubt about that. What I didn't care for was the ending of the story. Usually in a story like this one I pick a character that I like and there isn't much that can sway my opinion of them. That was not the case here, I liked each of them for a little bit, then I really didn't like either of them at all. I felt sorry for each of them for a bit, then I decided that they deserved what they got. I never really cared much for any of them, but I still wanted a better ending for someone!

I understand the hype about the book since it's really well written, but I just don't care for this type of ending. I know that there are readers out there that won't be bothered by it, but I feel like my time these days is super valuable and I wasted 4 days on this book. I try not to read reviews of books before I read the book myself because I want to be able to read without being influenced at all. There were a lot of good reviews of this book, unfortunately I didn't care for it. I don't know that I will pick up another of Ms. Flynns books because of this.

If you like a nice tidy ending when you read a book then I don't recommend this one for you!

1 comment:

Shelly,I totally agree! Not just the ending but the characters, while well written, were atrocious! I can't believe they are considering this for a movie. I'ts just an unfortunate tale of narcissistic personality disorder.